Age rating: 18+ (PEGI)

What is it?
First person shooter in a space ship (and a bar, well for a little bit anyway).

Is it fun?
Yes, unless you suffer from motion sickness then you might feel a little sick!

Is it worth the money? Xbox 360 - £39.99 and PC - £24.99
Yes.

Why?
I think it is best to summarise Prey’s good and bad points as it’s a fairly generic first person shooter. However, it does boast portals (aka doors) and other clever graphical effects to distract you from the task at hand which is shooting God damn evil aliens.

Good points:

• It’s easy - You can complete all 22 levels in a few days so you can go play something else.
• I’m invincible - You never really die. Instead you just take part in a sub-game in the spirit world to gain your health and spirit energy back and then you’re transported back to the game at the point you “died”.
• Achievements ahoy - You get achievements after completing every level, even for the short, plot heavy levels where there’s no shooting! Easy money gamerpoints.
• Spirit mode and spirit bow - For those hard to reach places.
• Organic environment - Uses an enhanced Doom 3 engine apparently.
• Kick-ass weapons - I love the leech weapon when it’s full of hot plasma. Melty, melty.
• The “shoot first, ask questions later” approach to game play.
• Clever level design - For the first 19 or so levels incorporating several nice and slightly challenging puzzles.
• Portals - Madness. Sometimes you walk through doors, sometimes you use portals (and so do the bad guys, bugger).
• Gravity switches and walkways - Upside, downside, on-your-side action anyone?
• Your own spaceship - Fly me to the moon, or just to the end of the level. Ta.
• Arcade games - Rune Master, Blackjack and Draw Poker.

Bad Points:

• Really, really lazy level design for the last 3 levels - It looks like they ran out of ideas and wanted the game out the door.
• Too easy.
• Multiplayer via Xbox Live sucks donkey balls - Don’t mention the lag. I said DON’T mention it! Aggghhhh, the lag….
• The Black Jack machine cheats - There seems to be a huge number of 10 cards in the pack Mr Xbox!
• Tommy’s sidekick, the spiritual hawk - Annoying, just really annoying. Look this game is not that complicated so just bugger off and let me shoot stuff!!! Grrr, feckin bird.

Screenshots:

Links:
Official Prey website
Prey’s protracted (11 year) incubation period

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